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Renata Liubertaitė

Not all vehicles are equally safe and reliable, so doing a safety check is crucial when buying a car. But how many of us do?

We’re thrilled to introduce the Safety feature to our reports. Alongside other essential data, users can now easily access a vehicle’s safety information, including safety ratings and recalls, in one place.

This addition aims to help used car buyers understand how safe the vehicle is and make better purchase decisions.

Enter a VIN code to learn more about any vehicle!

Need help buying a used car?

Introducing the carVertical report Safety feature

 will include a Safety section if vehicle safety information is available. 

Depending on your location, your vehicle history report will include safety ratings from one of the three main car safety assessment programmes: NHTSA, Euro NCAP, or ANCAP.

An overall vehicle safety score (from 0 to 5 stars)

Results for specific tested areas (in percentage (Euro NCAP and ANCAP) or stars (NHTSA))

Safety ratings allow you to learn about the vehicle’s ability to protect passengers in various scenarios and better assess the effectiveness of its safety features, such as airbags, seat belts, and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).

Hence, this can help you identify cars with higher safety standards, potentially reducing the risk of injury or even fatalities in accidents.

Additionally, the Safety section of the report will provide information about car safety recalls, if any. Next to each recall, you will see its status (

) and other available information, such as when it was announced, recall number, risk, and similar.

Some recalls can also include a more comprehensive description of the issue to help you better understand the problem.

This particular warning is crucial for safety, as used car owners are not always aware of recalls affecting their vehicles.

This happens mostly because manufacturers send recall notices only once – to the current owner. Due to factors like secondhand ownership or limited awareness of the automotive news, 

you may not even know that a car you own or are about to own is dangerous to drive.

A well-maintained and undamaged car is the most reliable! Check any VIN code to make sure you're not buying a wreck:

Looking for a reliable car?

If a vehicle’s safety performance score is low or the recall indicates a high safety risk and repairs are not promptly available, it's generally recommended to consider other options.

What are car safety ratings and how are they calculated?

how well a vehicle protects its occupants in emergency situations

 (e.g., crashes). It’s determined based on a series of internationally recognized crash tests and safety assessments conducted by independent organizations or governmental agencies, such as the:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

 and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 

, and other regional or national agencies globally.

Since all these organizations operate in different regions, there may be differences in the specific tests conducted and the criteria used.

frontal, side, and rollover resistance tests,

 which account for the majority of crashes in the country.

The Overall Vehicle Score considers the chances of getting hurt in these accidents.

 also use a five-star system, calculated based on the assessment of four areas:

 (for the driver and passenger), determined from frontal impact, lateral impact, and whiplash tests.

 determined by testing how well child safety features work.

 determined by testing how well vehicles protect vulnerable road users – pedestrians and cyclists – with whom they might collide.

 determined by evaluating driver-assistance and crash-avoidance technologies.

The five-star rating was introduced to add more flexibility to the previous rating scheme, but you can generally find both the overall rating and individual results for the mentioned areas.

 are largely aligned with the organization’s European counterpart, Euro NCAP. Therefore, the overall score is also determined based on crash tests and safety assessments of on-board safety features.

In some cases, ANCAP may adapt certain aspects to better suit the Australian and New Zealand markets.

What are car recalls and why do they matter?

to address and fix safety-related defects found in vehicles already sold to consumers.

 These can be anything from faulty radio wiring to problems with engine components.

The process of initiating car recalls varies slightly across regions. While car recalls are typically issued by manufacturers, relevant authorities (e.g., the NHTSA or European Commission) can also initiate a recall after receiving multiple reports on the same safety-related issue.

critical for ensuring the safety and reliability of vehicles

 on the road. Acting on an issued recall promptly can help prevent accidents and injuries resulting from the identified defects.

How do you check car safety?

How do I find my car's NCAP rating?

What determines the safety of a car?

New carVertical report Safety feature – avoid dangerous vehicles

Catastrophic acts of nature may not be something you consider when buying a used car. But they should be.

We are happy to introduce the Natural Disasters feature to our report. It will check whether a vehicle may have been located in an area affected by calamities like floods, volcanic eruptions, or tropical cyclones. Hopefully, this will help users avoid vehicles impacted by water damage, fire damage, or other misfortunes.

Don't risk your safety - check it with carVertical first

Looks can be deceiving!

carVertical Natural Disasters feature: what is it and how does it work?

From the available data, the new carVertical Natural Disasters section will suggest whether the vehicle’s location has been recorded in the area hit by a natural disaster, such as a flood, volcanic eruption, or tropical cyclone, around the time it occurred.

This can encourage you to take appropriate precautions before sealing the deal.

For example, the above report suggests the car may have been exposed to flooding. While it may not show any visible signs of damage, you could bring this to the attention of a professional mechanic during the physical inspection – it might save you thousands in repair bills.

The map of the area affected by a natural disaster and more details will appear in a 

Below the map, you’ll be able to see more information about a specific disaster, including:

, which is ranked from Low (1) to High (3)

The official natural disaster impact score is based on the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS) data and is calculated differently depending on the event type.

Depending on the disaster type, the report will also provide a brief tip on what to inspect in such a car.

doesn’t indicate that the car was directly affected by the natural disaster

 or even that it certainly was in the area of the natural disaster in question.

It serves as a precaution, helping buyers to become more aware of potential risks and pay closer attention to the possibility of underlying damage when inspecting used cars with such records.

Avoid costly problems by checking a vehicle's history. Get a report instantly!

Check your VIN

The new carVertical’s Natural Disasters feature will give used car buyers even more context about vehicles they check and provide insights that can contribute to safety, reliability, and financial protection throughout the vehicle’s lifespan.

Armed with the information from a vehicle history report, buyers can negotiate a better price or walk away from the deal altogether.

Why should you be concerned about natural disasters when buying a vehicle?

You may have seen terrifying videos of cars being swept away by floods, but have you ever considered their fate after the emergency? So many of them make it back on the roads, putting unsuspecting buyers at risk.

Visually, these cars may look like nothing has ever happened to them, when in reality, there are many reasons to be concerned about buying such a vehicle, including:

 Natural disasters can cause damage to a vehicle’s internal components, and if you don’t know what to look for, it’s not always possible to spot it. For example, even if a car is submerged in floodwater for a short time, water can get into the car’s electrical system, leading to corrosion or malfunctioning electronics.

 The damage made to a vehicle may not appear instantly, causing long-term reliability issues. Components that have been exposed to water, debris, or extreme weather conditions may deteriorate over time, resulting in unexpected breakdowns or maintenance issues.

 Vehicles exposed to natural disasters often have significantly lower resale value. Potential buyers are wary of purchasing such cars, making it challenging to sell them or recoup the initial investment.

Knowing a car you're interested in may have been impacted by a natural disaster can help you ask the right questions when buying it.

What does water damage do to a car?

What are the signs of flood-damaged cars?

How much water can ruin an engine?

Is flood damage repairable?

Are flood-damaged cars worth buying?

How does volcanic ash affect cars?

Is volcanic smog harmful to cars?

Avoid damaged cars with our new Natural Disasters report feature

carVertical

We at carVertical take information security seriously. Therefore, we’re proud to announce that the company successfully passed the ISO/IEC certification audit and carVertical is now officially ISO/IEC 27001:2017 certified, proving our commitment to secure data and deliver our services in the most efficient way.

Check any VIN to learn a vehicle's history!

Afraid of buying a wreck?

ISO/IEC 27001:2017 is the world's best-known standard for information security management systems. But what does this actually mean for carVertical?

When a company is ISO/IEC 27001:2017 certified, this means that this organization has implemented tools and procedures to protect all verbal, written, and electronic information received, sent, created, managed, and used from all possible threats: external, internal, intentional, or accidental.

ISO/IEC 27001:2017 applies to any data related to our business, including computer networks, information systems, partners, contractors, and more.

Providing our users and partners with trust and transparency

We are constantly improving our services and introducing new products, and we want to give our users and partners the level of trust and transparency they deserve.

Being ISO/IEC 27001:2017 certified proves that carVertical has the necessary tools to ensure that all the data we use in your daily operations is securely stored and managed, thus mitigating the risk of potential threats.

As an automotive data platform, we want to set high standards for a secure online environment. And we're not stopping there. We'll keep working hard to meet global and industry-specific data security standards in the future, too.

carVertical information security management system gets ISO/IEC 27001:2017 certification

Karolis Bareckas

A year is a long time in the used car market. Can you imagine how many damaged cars, rolled back kilometers, and stolen vehicles carVertical saw over the last 12 months?

Our team has looked at the stats from 26 countries and hand-picked the most interesting automotive facts of 2023. From popular vehicle colors to mileage fraud statistics – here's a glance at the current situation in the second-hand car market.

€250,000 – the highest damage value recorded on carVertical (Lamborghini Huracan).

€4.4 billion – the total damages aggregated in our history reports.

7.7 billion – the total number of clocked kilometers.

450,000 km – the biggest mileage rollback seen on carVertical.

14.7% – the share of the most checked car brand on the platform (BMW).

Half of BMW cars had been damaged in the past

In 2023, 1.78 million damage events were spotted on carVertical, up from 1.4 million in the previous year.

The highest damage value belongs to a Lamborghini Huracan, which suffered damages worth €250,000. It was not a good year for Lamborghini owners, as an Aventador took the 2nd place with €218,126 in damages. These Lamborghinis are followed by a Porsche GT3, which had damages worth €202,975.

The total value of damages of all vehicles checked on carVertical in 2023 exceeds €4.4 billion. In 2022, this number was €5.1 billion.

Unsurprisingly, BMW is the most damaged brand on the platform, with 48.4% of all checked cars having damage records. Audi (43.9%), Skoda (43.7%), Dacia (43.5%), and Lexus (42.4%) are not very far behind. On average, 39.3% of all used vehicles checked on the platform had been damaged, suggesting that the chances of buying a car with hidden issues are pretty high.

Premium-class German cars seem to attract thieves the most

Every year, many stolen vehicles are spotted on carVertical. Of course, this isn’t to say anything about the actual number of stolen cars – they rarely make it to the used vehicle market. Mostly, they’re disassembled and sold for parts.

BMW cars are the most desired among thieves, with 17.7% of all stolen vehicles checked belonging to this German manufacturer. Mercedes-Benz (15.3%) and Audi (12%) models also attract wrongdoers, so premium vehicle owners should be cautious. We also spotted some stolen Ford (6.1%) and Volkswagen (5.4%) vehicles.

Most stolen cars were manufactured between 2016 and 2019 – 5-7 year old vehicles are highly desired in the used car market. Most of the stolen cars were produced in 2016 – 12.4%. However, this doesn’t mean that people owning older cars should be careless – thieves target vehicles of any age.

Of all vehicles checked on carVertical in 2023, 7.5% had been clocked. This means that 1 out of 12 cars in the market may have an altered odometer, costing buyers and governments billions in fees, repair costs, and taxes.

In total, we recorded 7.7 billion clocked kilometers – a slight increase from 7.4 billion in the previous year. For reference, the distance from Earth to Pluto is only around 5.4 billion kilometers.

The biggest mileage rollback of the year belongs to one particular Volvo V70 – its mileage was “improved” by a staggering 450,000 kilometers. It had definitely been around the block a few times! However, no one was able to beat the Toyota Rav 4 with 993,000 km on the odometer. At the moment of writing the article, this car has probably already passed the 1,000,000 km mark – an impressive number for any machine.

Certain vehicle brands are more susceptible to mileage fraud. 14.3% of all Opel cars had been clocked, making it the most risky brand. Opel is followed by Jeep (12.8%), Land Rover (11.4%), Lexus (10.8%), and Porsche (10.5%).

Mileage rollbacks become more prevalent as cars get older. 13.8% of all cars manufactured in 1995 had a clocked mileage, making this the riskiest model year to buy. Cars manufactured between 2012 and 2016 also see a lot of odometer tampering (their clocking rates are around 11%).

The Volkswagen Golf was the most checked car in 2023

When it comes to the favorite vehicles by carVertical users, BMW takes the crown with a share of 14.7%. This means 1 out 7 cars checked belonged to this manufacturer. Volkswagen (14.3%), Audi (11.9%), Mercedes-Benz (8.4%), and Ford (5%) are also popular choices.

The most desired model on carVertical in 2023 was the Volkswagen Golf (accountable for 4.91% of all history checks). The BMW 3 Series (4.89%), Volkswagen Passat (3.8%), BMW 5 Series (3.7%), and Audi A4 (3.5%) are also popular among used car buyers.

While drivers have different car color preferences, black (29.6%), gray (26.6%), and white (18.8%) have dominated the market. The share of extravagant colors like green, purple, or yellow rarely exceeds 1%.

The study analyzed information from 26 different countries: the UK, USA, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Hungary, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Australia, and Mexico. All facts are based on data from our vehicle history reports.

Don’t want to end up in these statistics? Check a car’s history with carVertical

Behind every statistic in this article, there may be a car in bad condition, and an unsuspecting buyer ready to buy it. It doesn’t have to be like this!

Checking a car’s history may reveal mileage discrepancies, damages, theft records, and more. This helps you decide whether a vehicle you’re interested in is actually worth the bargain. If a car has suffered severe damage in the past or its mileage has been altered by thousands of kilometers, it’s best to walk away.

You can check as many cars on carVertical as you need, exclude the ones in bad condition and only test-drive those with a clean history.

Research: The most surprising used car market facts of 2023

Anyone who has ever searched for a used car knows how frustrating it can be to find one with a clean history. Yet the used car market varies from country to country – some markets are simply more transparent than others.

For the second year in a row, our team has analyzed the market transparency metrics in different European countries, creating a ranking. Let's have a look at how the second-hand vehicle market is evolving and what the current trends are.

Reveal them all! Just enter a VIN code and click the button:

Used cars have dark secrets

Western European and Scandinavian countries have less fraud

The UK is the most transparent used car market for the second year in a row. Since the British aren’t interested in left-handed cars dominating continental Europe, the import rates are very low (2.2%), directly correlating with the lower number of scams in the used car market.

The higher the import rates are, the more opportunity for scams to occur in that particular country.

In the UK, 2.7% of cars have mileage rollbacks, Germany – 3.4%, Switzerland – 2.4%, Denmark – 4.1%, and France – 3.3%, which is significantly better than in other parts of Europe. Lower clocking rates across different markets was caused by improved data accuracy and additional measures implemented to eliminate errors during data digitization.

You may wonder why mileage rollbacks in Western Europe and Scandinavian countries are less common. Apart from lower import rates, 

these countries also have stricter legislation and higher GDP per capita.

, which results in fewer scams and mileage rollbacks.

Germany was ranked 2nd in the 2022 Market Transparency Index and it stayed in the same place this year. France and Denmark were also in the top 5 and secured their positions among the most transparent markets again this year.

Italy, which was 3rd last year, has dropped quite significantly, finishing 10th. This was caused by increased average rollback value (50,305 km in 2022 and 78,658 km this year) and average damage value (€5,928 last year compared to €7,643 in 2023). When it comes to odometer fraud, Italy has dropped from 8th place in the ranking last year to 13th this year.

Italy was replaced by Switzerland, which was only 9th last year.

While the situation in Western Europe and Scandinavia is better than in Eastern Europe, this doesn’t mean that buyers should be careless.

 In the UK, 18.4% of vehicles checked on carVertical had been damaged at some point, suggesting they may have hidden defects. While Germany (22.8%) and Denmark (22.8%) are not very far from the UK, the situation in France (41.2%) and Switzerland (58.9%) is far worse.

Even though Switzerland has quite a significant percentage of damages, the country is ranked 2nd by percentage of odometers clocked and 3rd by average rollback value, which allows it to be one of the most transparent countries.

Transparency in Central Europe is average

Countries from Central Europe stand in the middle of the Market Transparency Index: 

clocking here is more common than in Western Europe and import rates are high.

Out of 25 countries in the Transparency Index, Czechia ranks 13th, Slovakia – 14th, and Hungary – 17th. All of these countries have suffered a decline in the ranking compared to the previous year: Czechia was 12th, Slovakia – 13th, and Hungary – 14th. This slight drop in ranking may lead to millions of euros lost to scammers.

In 2022, 55% of cars in Hungary were damaged, this year, the percentage grew to 56.7%. Slovakia has experienced a similar trend: from 57.7% last year to 58.8% this year. Only Czechia managed to go from 51.6% to 50.6% and slightly improve in the damage statistics.

Like last year, the market transparency in Eastern European countries is the worst. 

Fraud rates in this region correlate with a higher number of imported cars,

 as car data often gets lost during cross-border transactions. The share of damaged vehicles is also higher than average. Also, from the fraud prevention legislation point of view, some countries don’t do enough to protect the public interest.

Ukraine faces transparency issues, as 8.5% of cars had been clocked and 49.7% were damaged. Last year, Ukraine was ahead of Latvia in the Transparency Index, which was the least transparent country. This year, they switched places and Ukraine took over the spot of the most shady market.

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carVertical information security management system gets ISO/IEC 27001:2017 certification

Research: The most surprising used car market facts of 2023

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Meet the new carVertical: check out our renewed report and style

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The perfect route for affiliate partners: success is only a 2-hour drive away

Increase your income: invite sub-affiliates to join carVertical

Company news

New carVertical report Safety feature – avoid dangerous vehicles

Avoid damaged cars with our new Natural Disasters report feature

carVertical information security management system gets ISO/IEC 27001:2017 certification

Research: The most surprising used car market facts of 2023

carVertical’s Market Transparency Index for 2023: which countries are the riskiest for used car buyers?

Meet the new carVertical: check out our renewed report and style￼

carVertical among the fastest-growing European companies in 2022 – what's next?

Introducing carVertical’s Market Transparency Index for 2022

carVertical presents motorcycle history checks!

carVertical doubles revenue in 2021 – what does the future hold?

ReDrive 2021: carVertical’s year in numbers

WMI Suggest: learning by trial and error with the help of AI

A European diamond: carVertical success story continues to inspire other enterprises

carVertical Vehicle History Report 2.0 Launched: What Are the Key User Benefits?

Turn your smartphone into the car check expert with this new app

Small in numbers, big in success with the proper affiliate program

Keeping your customers happy: how the perfect affiliate partner can triple your income

The perfect route for affiliate partners: success is only a 2-hour drive away

Increase your income: invite sub-affiliates to join carVertical

Meet the new carVertical: check out our renewed report and style